Israeli high-tech companies raised $673 million in venture capital during the first quarter of 2014.

Reuters reported on the findings of the Israel Venture Capital (IVC) Research Center:

“The bullish U.S. capital market and capital raising for technology companies via IPOs on Nasdaq in the last 12 months have been drivers of venture capital, both globally and in Israel,” said Ofer Sela, a partner at KPMG’s technology group.

“Venture-backed revenue stage growth companies are raising substantially higher amounts of capital on average than in the past, positioning themselves for continued market expansion and significant acquisitions and/or Nasdaq IPOs.”

This amount is an increase of 53 percent over the amount raised in the first quarter of 2013. The continued investment in Israeli high-tech companies is important because they are “key drivers of the economy, helping to spur growth of 3.3 percent in 2013.”

Writing in Globes last week, Bank Hapoalim CEO Zion Kenan emphasized a similar point, arguing, “Only if we continue our technological entrepreneurship, fully aware of discoveries and trends in other countries, will we stand a chance of remaining internationally competitive.”

At the beginning of the year, 2014 was thought to be shaping up to be a very good year for Israeli start-ups. The robust health of Israel’s overall business climate has been hailed as a result of Israel’s production of “healthy, educated, and able workers.” Moody’s recently re-affirmed its highest ratings for Israel due to its “prosperous and diverse economy.” A further indication of the health of Israel’s economy was the recent opening of Lockheed-Martin’s Israel office in Beersheba’s new Advanced Technologies Park.

[Photo: StateOfIsrael / Flickr ]